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Security now prime item on families’ budgets

March 2, 2013 : Bosede Olusola-Obasa

Almost every Nigerian family now maintains a security budget, depending on their purse.

Before now, foodstuff, house-keeping, medicals and the like were typical items on a family’s budget in Nigeria.

But the new trend in bombings, kidnappings, ritual killings, armed robbery, hired assassinations, burglaries, car snatching, communal and religious crises, among others, many Nigerian families no longer take their security lightly.

Items on the security list include licensed and illegal guns, security dogs, high fences, electric fence wires, heavy metal gates and heavy burglar-proof bars, alarms, many Nigerians now pay for day and night guards in their homes.

Also, residents’ associations enlist the services of security personnel to keep surveillance on their streets, estates or localities.

The budget also includes devices to protect cars from being stolen. Not even religious organisations are left out, as some tax members to raise funds for security during and after their regular and special programmes.

Some wealthy Nigerians enlist the services of policemen and soldiers to guard them.

Saturday PUNCH investigation shows that fewer people these days make use of local security guards of northern origin aka Maiguards because many of them are non-Nigerians. They now prefer to pay for the services of vigilance groups and licensed security guards, although at a high cost.

Mrs. Adebimpe Kolawole, a banker with a new generation bank, said the new trend is a reflection of the entire society.

She said, “In the 2012 national budget, the president voted billions of naira for security, which had never happened before. It is not a matter of choice; it is a matter of waking up to reality. Today, you need anti car-jacking devices on your car, among others. It has become the single most crucial thing to consider in a family budget. In my house, the security fence is there, the guards are there, the dogs are there too. It is no luxury, I must say.”

For Mr. Wale Balogun, a major transport operator, it has become compulsory for people who drive at night to ensure that the air condition in their vehicles is functioning properly so that they can keep the glass rolled up.

He says, “That never used to be so important. There are a lot of other security issues; the cost of procuring any valuable has since become insignificant when compared with what it requires to secure it. God will help us.”

A Lagos resident, Alozie Mike, said that there were far reaching financial implications for every security option each family makes consciously or unconsciously.

“For instance, those who keep special breed dogs have automatically picked a bill for the dog’s meal ticket. And you know it’s a different ball game when you are feeding those dogs. But once they are there, you place a notice at your gate to warn that such security dogs live there. And if anyone says security is costly, they should try insecurity,” he said.

Saturday PUNCH enquiries at Kings Guards, a corporate security company in Lagos, revealed that one needs N35,000 to hire a trained security guard for residential operations. It could be as high as N70,000 per guard, depending on the calibre of the client and his location.

As a policy, many private security firms said that they don’t hire less than four guards out for any contract. That means a family needs at least N140,000 per month to keep private guards for a house.

An employee of Kings Guard, who pleaded anonymity, explained that the reason the company insists on minimum of four guards per private contract is to allow their officers to do the job well.

The official said that patronage from private users had been very low because many people could not afford it, but added that to be covered by insurance, such precautions must be taken.

“We don’t send out less than four persons per time – that is two people in the morning shift and two in the evening. One of the persons on duty might want to answer the call of nature, so the other person stays awake.

“If we oblige you the request for two people and anything negative happens, insurance will not cover that risk. Besides, if there are a minimum of two people per time and there is an emergency, the other can call for help from the office. We are different from the Maiguards, many who are not even Nigerians but citizens of Mali, Chad and Niger,” she said.

At Sovereign Guards, the price is not different, but their policy is to contract out a minimum of five guards per residence or office complex. The least payable per head is N35,000.

An official, who declined to be named, said two guards would work in the morning, two in the evening, while the fifth person would act as a relief employee on days when any other observes a break.

“We are professionals in security; we are different from the typical guards who also act as gatemen in residences. If you hire just one or two for a whole day’s work, you make them more vulnerable. In the case of an attack, the second person can raise a rescue alarm,” he said.

For those who cannot afford the trained security guards, they hire Maiguards while some people in the South-West patronise the Odua Peoples Congress.

Saturday PUNCH checks show that there is a rise in the patronage profile of OPC, because it commands much respect. A member of the OPC, who identified himself as Dapo, says one can hire an OPC guard to work for 24 hours a day and earn N40,000 monthly.

He said the provision of accommodation and rifles are also negotiable, adding that a client can also get two OPC guards to work on morning and evening shifts for N20,000 each monthly.

The Maiguards cost lesser, as they ask for N10,000 and above. They may also ask for accommodation, among other things.

There are also indications that more Nigerians now own licensed pistols for personal security. Only three weeks ago, some passengers were arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos for being in possession of pistols. They were, however, released later.

The Nigerian passengers, whose names were not mentioned for security reasons, claimed that they brought in the guns from the United States for their personal protection.

General Manager, Corporate Communications of FAAN, Yakubu Dati, said the guns did not pose any threat to any passenger at the time of seizure.

He said the aviation security personnel of the agency would continue to work with other security operatives at the airports to ensure the safety of life and property.

A governance expert in the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, Uche Igwe, said the global prices of some guns are as follows: AK47(Russian made) costs about $400 (about N60,000); and AK 47(Romanian made), $275, (about N41,250). A Beretta 92F costs $600, (about N90,000) while an automatic 45 gun costs $2000, (about N300,000).

i have my own teem in nigeria i live in isreal,one village 4 seculity 500.000 naira.i will handle those bokohalam and gun man.gate them read handed with out killing

Efe1

Transformation Agenda! Fresh Air indeed.

John650

I remember what Nigeria used to be like back in the 70s and part of the 80s. You could go anywhere at anytime with little concern about security. There were no fences in houses until the mid 80s. We should ask ourselves what changed. The primary problem is the economy. There are more people unemployed today than at any other time. Our population has also quadrupled. With that said, the government needs to create an enabling environment to foster entrepreneurship and economic growth. By this, I mean providing good roads, adequate power supply, favorable foreign investment policies, investment in our educational system, good healthcare, hiring of more police officers, building more prisons, improved judicial system, and the mother of all, addressing the issue of corruption. Corruptions robs everyone. Besides diverting funds meant for infrastructural development into the hands of a few, it inflates the prices we pay for goods and services and undermines economic development by generating considerable distortions and inefficiency.

In addition, there needs to be a government policy on family planning. We just can’t be breeding like animals. There are families who cannot support all their children. There are also people having illegitimate children. These children eventually end up on the streets trying to fend for themselves. The government needs to put a cap on the number of children a family can have. Also, men and women need to be held accountable for their off-springs until they reach adult age.

We are tackling the problems of insecurity by putting band-aid on it. Building foxholes is only a temporary fix. We need to address the real problems so we can live like a normal society.

squarek

Doyin Okupe and his Principal, GEJ can you recognise insecurity as an indicator of a failed State instead of blabbing and continuous denial. Where Citizens have to provide their own security or the Government and its security agencies become compromised or rendered impotent in tackling all sorts of crime especially corruption which ultimately empowers villains in the the society against all and sundry, that Nation State becomes a gigantic failure. I hope you still have the cognitive capacity to recognise this state of affair.

arotunji

AS LONG AS A TINY MINORITY OF RICH PEOPLE HOARD WEALTH TO THE EXCLUSION OF VAST MAJORITY OF HAVE NOTS IN THE COUNTRY AND WHILE FLAUNTING THEIR WEALTH WHEN SO MANY PEOPLE ARE STARVING, THEY MUST KNOW THAT THEY CAN NEVER BE SECURE.

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